I Care
by Ixionrider
Summary: Naruto has gone missing and everyone is out to find him. One in particular is very concernced. KibaNaru
1. Chapter 1

YAY! Another NaruKiba fic. Don't they make such a cute souple? Anyway, this one takes place during the Sasuke defection, just to set the scene. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO! Enjoy!

**Lost Cause**

The rain was starting to come down in a mist, the tree tops turning a white-ish color, preparing for the initial downpour that the dark skies promised would come. Most of the residents in Konoha village were smart enough to stay indoors during the storm, only a few still wandered about outside.

One in particular had a mission in mind. He had searched all of Konoha, all of the usual places at least. The ramen shop, Sakura's house and of course the academy, but what he was looking for wasn't there. Rather, who he was looking for wasn't there.

Kiba Inuzuka was running all around the Hidden Leaf village, looking for its number one knucklehead ninja.

"Naruto! Naruto!" he yelled with every new leap off a rooftop. He had been searching for an hour so far, the mist clinging to his fur coat, soaking his clothes. He was accompanied by several others of the blonde's friends once they realized that he wasn't where he should have been.

Naruto was supposed to be in the infirmary in the Konoha hospital, tending to his injures he received from his previous skirmish with his so-called friend Sasuke. Personally, Kiba didn't like the Uchiha, not in the least. And he especially didn't like him now that he hurt Naruto.

Regardless of his grudge on Sasuke, he wasn't focused on finding that boy. He could care less if that jerk ever came back. But, it mattered to Naruto, and that was enough for him, Shikamaru, Neji and Chouji to help him.

"Naruto, if you're out there, please answer me!" Kiba pleaded, decidedly leaving the search in the city to Shikamaru and Neji. He chose to search the surrounding forest area instead. He figured that he and Naruto were more alike than not. Kiba would want the privacy of the forest if he was ever down, so he figured that Naruto would do the same.

'Come on, where are you Naruto?' he thought rushed as he passed several large oak trees, leaving his other companion far behind him. He had to slow his pace several times when he heard the yip of his canine friend behind him, telling him to slow down. "Come on Akamaru, what if he's hurt? Hurry it up!" he yelled back at the little pup. The two searched a great deal of the forest which was starting to sway back and forth in a violent wind.

"What if we don't find him here?" Akamaru barked at his master. "Then we don't go home until we _do_ find him." Kiba yelled back, a cruel wind whipping in his ears. The wind and the rain made it exceedingly difficult for the brunette to pinpoint any sort of distinguishable scent in the air.

Akamaru struggled to keep pace with his master, rarely managing to come side by side with him. But when he did, he couldn't help but see a small drop of water stream down his face. 'Is he crying, or is that just the rain?' the pup wondered. He wouldn't be surprised if Kiba was crying. He cared a great deal for Naruto, how much he didn't really know. His master always kept to himself whenever he was approached about the subject, but a small blush always crossed his cheeks.

"Come on Akamaru, I'm gonna kick it up a notch. Jump into my coat." He demanded and the dog quickly obeyed. As soon as Akamaru was secure, the brunette pushed more of his chakra into his feet, using more propulsion whenever he jumped. "Don't use a lot, you'll wear yourself out faster." Akamaru warned. "Don't worry about me, we have to find Naruto." Kiba retorted.

It had been another good half hour of searching before the two decided to turn back.

'There's no way he came out this far with the injuries he has.' Kiba thought, at least a little reprieved. At least he had a better chance of finding his favored blonde if he just performed a radius scan of the area around him from where he stopped. Again, the two traveled through the treetops, the brunette screaming the name of Naruto into the ever-increasing force of the rain.

The sky was growing impatient and needed to release its load soon, which would spell disaster for the still searching brunette. His search carried all around the perimeter of Konoha, never stopping for an instant to rest. That's what in turn began to wear him down. The exhaustion of his chakra was beginning to slow the teen down. He had used most of his energy supply, and his own injuries that were inflicted on him during his search for Sasuke didn't help matters either.

"You're tired, you can't go any further. Let's go back to the hospital, maybe someone found him by now." Akamaru suggested but his master was not convinced. A gut feeling still egged him on. He wasn't so sure that Naruto was found yet, so the brunette continued to search for him.

Just as the rain was beginning to pour down in waves, the brunette now soaked started heading back to the village. "NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU?" he shouted with all his might, hoping that his blonde would answer him. No such luck.

He was ready, after two hours of searching without end or rest, to return to the village, at least until the rain stopped.

"Kiba…I'm sorry we couldn't find him." Akamaru tried to console. Kiba seemed distant to the pup's remark and shrugged it off. "If only I was stronger…If only I could catch the smallest scent…anything…" he accused. "It's not your fault, don't beat yourself up. We'll find him. If not, then he'll find us." The pup retorted.

"But what if he's hurt? What if he's alone and scared right now?" a fleeting image of the injured ninja curled up against a tree with blood flowing from his still fresh wounds scared the brunette. "I can't rest yet. Not until I find…huh?" his attention was interrupted by a sudden flash of gold in the thicket of forest canopy.

There, on the limb of a tree, covered by the rich umbrella of foliage overhead, stood Naruto. "Naruto!" Kiba gasped. The canine-nin immediately dropped to his level and ran to embrace him.

The soaking brunette eagerly ran up to the just as wet Naruto when he stopped in his tracks. Something about the blonde was off. He stood there without even the smallest reaction to the brunette's presence, and his countenance was awkwardly silent and sullen.

"Naruto?" Kiba asked, taking hesitant steps closer to him. The blonde boy didn't respond to him. Naruto was staring out of the canopy that hid him from his friends, the view of the entire village of Konoha captured where he stood. Kiba followed the smaller boy's gaze and then quickly returned to him. Every step Kiba took towards the boy, his heart began to beat faster. He was within arm's distance of the boy when Naruto finally acknowledged that Kiba was there.

Naruto turned his head slowly, revealing dark circles under his eyes and depressing frown over his delicate features. Odd that Kiba often thought of the blonde as delicate. In truth, he was the strongest of all of them in Konoha, even more so than Sasuke. But Kiba could see him for something else, something that Kiba admired and oftentimes wanted himself. An innocence that could not be described in words. His playful smile could light the brunette's day up in an instant and his sometimes rambunctious attitude likewise sometimes got the brunette in trouble, but always had fun with him.

Yes, in Kiba's eyes, Naruto was more than the warrior that everyone seemed to respect him for as it was. He was sweet and…in pain. He was lonely, Kiba could tell. It was a problem that the brunette had been preparing to fix for some time but never gathered enough to courage to do so.

Naruto stood facing Kiba, his legendary orange jacket not on his being. All he wore now was his orange pants and black t-shirt which still bore tear marks from his skirmish with Sasuke.

"Kiba…?" Naruto finally spoke, pulling the brunette's attention away from his blonde's physique. "…why are you here?" he finally asked.

"What? What do you mean why? I'm here to take you back to the village. I…we've been worried sick about you. Why did you leave the hospital?" Kiba wanted to know, but secretly just wanted the blonde to come into his arms so he could take him back.

"I'm leaving." Naruto said flatly. Kiba stopped moving, his heart stilled for the shortest of moments. "What? Why?" Kiba inquired, his voice worn from the yelling he did earlier.

"I've got to find Sasuke. I know (cough cough) he's still out there." Naruto struggled to finish his sentence without showing the fatigue of his body, an issue that was immediately noticed by his friend.

"Come on, Naruto. Just come back with me."

"Why? I thought you guys would be happy." The blonde snapped crassly.

"What? How can you say that?" Kiba started to argue, Akamaru jumped out of his hiding place in his master's coat, shaking off the water in his fur.

"At least you won't have to worry about some fox demon tearing up Konoha." Naruto finally confessed. In truth, it had been festering inside of him for some time. He did suspect that the people of the Hidden Leaf Village would never accept him as Hokage because of a birth rite he never asked for in the first place. It built up in the back of his mind, and now manifested since he had nothing else to lose.

"Is that what you really think?" Kiba stated, his heart ripping in two, tears falling faintly to the tree limb. "I can't believe that. Do you really think we want you to leave?" Kiba tried to insist he at least look at him.

Naruto did not even bother to answer. With a final breath, he attempted to jump off the tree limb and out of sight. Kiba recognized his intent early and jumped with a speed that frightened even his tiny companion and pinned Naruto against the hulking trunk of the tree.

"Ow! Kiba let me go!" Naruto shrieked, Kiba pushed his shoulders against the tree forcefully, his eyes becoming hazy. Naruto began to get restless, his arms immediately grabbing the taller boy's soaked coat and pushing away.

"Stop it Kiba! Just let me go!" the blonde snapped. "No! I'm not letting you leave me! Not this time!" Kiba blurted out, causing the still flinching blonde next to him to open his hesitant eyes that, even now in the face of despair, still held the glow of the skies in them. Naruto finally calmed, his arms loosening their hold on the teen in front of him, his eyes filled with intent and passion, something the boy had never witnessed before.

"I was afraid I lost you once. Do you know…" Kiba started, his hands slowly curling around the blonde's shivering shoulders. "…what it did to my heart to hear that you were gone?" Kiba neared the blonde more and more, their noses almost touching.

"Stop thinking that nobody cares…baka." Kiba whispered against Naruto's still wet skin as his longing lips were closed just under the blonde's right eye, leaving a gentle kiss over his skin. "I do." Kiba finally shared as his still hungry lips found their way over Naruto's. Kiba gently pressed into the shivering teen, sending electrified waves up his spine as the contact deepened.

Kiba pulled the blonde into his body with his longing arms. Naruto could only stare up past the brunette's eyes that were now tightly closed as he worked his lips into a more passionate embrace with him. Naruto could feel the pain, the anguish and the sorrow melting away the more Kiba dug into him.

All too soon, Kiba released the speechless blonde from his lips and stared at him almost seductively.

The blonde continued to shutter as the cold wind crept up his wet body, freezing him from the outside. Kiba wasted no time in removing his fur coat from his being, it still being dry on the inside thanks to its dual layers, and eagerly swooped Naruto into its warm embrace.

The still confused blonde just stood there, his mind racing with a thousand different questions that he felt needed to be answered, but Kiba's smile distracted him. Again, the ill blonde sneezed, his throat becoming scratchy from constant influence of the weather outside.

"Kiba…why are you doing this?" was one of the questions he probably should've abandoned before Kiba kissed him. The brunette smirked at his friend's lack of social grace, but mostly at that ridiculous expression of confusion he wore.

Again, with a deep smile spread across his lips, Kiba slinked his arms around the blonde's waist, pulling him back into his body. Kiba made sure that his coat was firmly fastened around his sick blonde before returning to the embrace he started.

"I just feel like it." the brunette stated with an increasing smile, his left arm eventually finding its own path up Naruto's back to the back of his neck where he playfully threaded his fingers through the locks of sunshine hair. His right arm busied itself in bringing his blonde closer to him.

"I love you." Kiba finally confessed, the same blush he had over his cheeks the day he first realized it now painted his cheeks again in a red tint.

The brunette innocently laid his head in the crick of Naruto's neck, silently breathing him in, making up for the times he should have been doing this.

Suddenly, an icy touch made the brunette jump. Although his curiosity at the time wanted to know what it was, more and more of an unfamiliar warmth flooded over his torso the more the touch spread.

Naruto hesitantly snaked his arms around Kiba's waist, crying his name as his fingers interlocked around his hero brunette.

"Kiba…why?" was all he could say. The brunette was not as surprised as he would normally be. Naruto still needed assurance more than anything else, and Kiba understood that.

Naruto nuzzled deeper into his hero, tears falling over the boy's tan shoulders. The blonde's legs were beginning to falter, but Kiba held to him tightly, never letting go.

"Shh…" Kiba whispered in Naruto's ear, pressing his lips gently against the skin he found there. Everything he did for Naruto explained it all. He gently held and caressed the poor blonde in his arms, swaying slightly to offer more comfort.

"We should stay here until it stops raining." Kiba suggested with a grin. As of now, the downpour began. Naruto gazed up from the shoulder that acted as his pillow and smiled before nuzzling back into the body he craved.

"Sounds good…" Naruto whispered as he placed a very appreciative kiss over Kiba's cheek. The brunette moved slightly, to meet Naruto face to face, only to close the small space between them with another warm kiss.

There the two teens staid until the rain dissipated, never wanting anything more than what they had right now.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

WHOA! It has been quite awhile since my last installment. Don't worry, I haven't given up. I'm still working on my crap. Well, here is the latest in the NaruKiba fanfiction, the second chapter of "I Care". YAY! I don't own any Naruto stuff. Enjoy! (R&R) ;)

Naruto was staring up at the mahogany ceiling, wondering how he had gotten into this situation in the first place. As it was, he couldn't completely make sense of the event that led to this moment. But thinking wasn't his strongest attribute. All he needed to know was that he was safe and warm.

Another minute in the endless void of thought that the blonde had been in passed as the very loyal brunette that he owed his life to walked into the privacy of his room. The sun had set for the day, and the rain was coming down a little harder now. The wind whipped the shades of the Inuzuka residence as Kiba entered the room given to the ailing Naruto. In fact, it had been his room. In his bed, the ill Naruto rested until he would be able to walk again. The brunette wasted no time in running over to secure the shades from being taken away from their relatively weak position in front of his windows.

"Are you cold, Naruto?" the concerned Inuzuka asked his guest.

The blonde managed to muster a weak smile and an even weaker head shake. He cuddled more into the comforter that kept him warm. Kiba watched from a distance, his mind still a ramble of thoughts. As much as he wanted to believe that Naruto would stay with him now that he knew how the brunette felt about him, he couldn't shake the feeling that the hyperactive ninja, now almost comatose, would leave him again. It had been eating away at him since the first kiss.

Kiba walked over the edge of his bed and gently prodded his hand over the curve of Naruto's form, causing the latter to shudder.

"Naruto, are you cold?" the brunette asked again. This time, Naruto didn't answer.

'I wonder what he's thinking.' Kiba thought to himself. He looked over at the nightstand where he found a half eaten meal growing colder.

"Naruto?" again the brunette hoped to get the other's attention, but still the body in front of him did not move.

"Naruto, answer me." he demanded silently. Still the blonde decided not to respond.

Growing impatient and concerned, Kiba decided to crawl into bed with his sickly beloved.

As he sunk his knee into the bed's edge, the mattress squeaked and fell lower to adjust to his weight, this time the sudden movement caught Naruto by surprise as he felt his body fall closer to the stalking Inuzuka.

It hadn't been a physical illness that gripped the smaller boy now. it was a pain that struck him hardest in his heart. His best friend betrayed him, almost killed him, and left him to die in a strange place. It would've been enough to murder even the strongest warrior inside.

In that regard, Kiba had all the sympathy in the world for his friend. If Akamaru did that to him, he would be devastated.

The blonde's careless and dangerous obsession with bringing the Uchiha back scared the canine-nin. He knew that Naruto would never give up until he either brought Sasuke back, or died trying.

"Naruto?" Kiba nudged the body curled in a tight ball. He knew Naruto was awake. There was no sense in him denying it, although he was sure the blonde wanted to make it seem that way just so he could avoid answering him.

"Come on Naruto, answer me." Kiba started to nudge his body into the blonde. His hand gently caressed the chilling teen to respond.

"Naruto…I know you miss him." for some reason it hurt to say that.

"But he'll come back. I'll help you look…if that's what you want." Kiba reassured.

Nothing. No response whatsoever from Naruto. His breathing started to change. It became steadier. Kiba's exploring hand stopped over the other's hip, fisted the comforter and yanked it away for the briefest instant to allow him to slip under its canopy and cuddle closer to the hurting teen.

"I promise." Kiba whispered before placing a puppy kiss over Naruto's neck.

He hated Sasuke, like most of the other rookie nine. He hated what he did to the village. Kiba hated him because he took Naruto's attention away from him. there was a whole list of reasons why he would hope the Uchiha was gone forever.

"Kiba…" finally the shattered teen muffled against the covers.

The brunette pressed his heaving body further into Naruto's back, afraid that all he had done, all that he had confessed and in turn earned from his coveted blonde was all for nothing.

"…thanks." Naruto squirmed his way free of the brunette's embrace and stepped onto the cold wooden floor. He gathered all of his belongings, dressed himself in his normal orange jumpsuit and searched for his headband.

Kiba sat up in his bed, now cold, staring at his companion and wishing he could just forget about Sasuke for two seconds and come back to bed with him.

Kiba watched intently as his friend stood securely and fastened his clothing over his body and tried to tighten his Konoha headband, but swayed back and forth trying to do so.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kiba asked.

"I'm going out to find him." the blonde retorted.

The cold air rushed in under the blankets that were missing one body underneath their protective embrace. Kiba eased himself to the edge of the bed, close to the still swaying Naruto as he readied to catch the teen should he need help.

"Naruto, you can't, you aren't well enough stupid."

"I have to try." Naruto started his uneasy trek to the door, his heels colliding every other step. His head spun, his cheeks flared and his body ached with untold illness. Naruto didn't make it far when he felt the full consequence of his illness. His knees quaked and his palms started to sweat.

Kiba jumped from his perch on the bed and immediately entwined his arms around Naruto's lithe waist, cradling his head over the other's right shoulder.

Kiba clung to Naruto, encouraging him to hold him back. He moved the weaker teen's arms around his waist, silently asking him to stay. He didn't know what else to do.

Kiba had never been one to exhibit emotions towards anyone else, his canine instincts forbade him to develop any meaningful attachments with anybody. This was all new to him. he asked Naruto to stay with him the only way he knew how, by physically keeping him in place.

"Don't go." the brunette pleaded.

"What about…?" the blonde stuttered.

"I'll help you find Sasuke. I promised didn't I? But for right now…just stay." Kiba started to pull Naruto away from the door and back to the bed. The half awake Naruto danced backwards, allowing his companion to bare the greater part of his weight. Kiba kept his hands over his stomach as he eased the stifled teen back to the bed.

The door moved further and further away from Naruto's view as he felt his body stiffen under the somewhat forceful manipulations of his Inuzuka dragging him back.

The blonde made his place under the covers again, eyeing the other who stood firmly next to the bed's edge, a sullen expression painted over his face. Naruto was pretty stupid, as far as deciphering emotions went. He couldn't even tell that Hinata had a huge crush on him, but for some reason he could sense some restraint in his friend.

The two shared a stern glare, Kiba's fingers danced along the downy edge of the mattress, waiting patiently for consent. He bit his lip nervously, waiting for Naruto to speak to him. Naruto sat up on his elbows, trying to figure out what his friend was so apprehensive about.

Suddenly, Naruto's mind flowed back to the tree. The tree where Kiba had found him, saved him, hugged him and kissed him. Where the two shared their secrets, where the brunette had painstakingly tracked him down, suffered through the harsh weather at the time just to make sure he was safe.

The blonde blushed and passed a playful scoff at the brunette who still had been fidgeting with the covers. He was waiting. Waiting for Naruto to give him permission to sleep with him, just like a noble dog waits for his master to call.

Naruto opened the covers over his bare legs, Kiba's stare widened and his fidgeting ceased.

"Well, are you coming in or not?" Naruto smiled.

Choosing not wait for another invitation that may not come he crawled onto the mattress again, peaceably falling under the comforter and squirming closer to the fabled blonde idiot.

Stealthily, Kiba raced under the comforter before it would close around them.

The brunette hurried next to Naruto, his hips melding against the other, ushering a playful laugh from the kyuubi.

The sound played through Kiba's sensitive ears, filling him with a sense of accomplishment and invincibility, something only the blonde could make him feel.

Flying on his sensation in the moment, Kiba smiled dashingly and swept his arms under the blonde and pulled him into a quick chaste kiss.

Kiba let his eyes fall under the blonde's spell, his tender manipulations creating a burn in his chest and a dizzy effect in his head.

_When you call on me_

_When I hear you breathe_

_I get wings to fly_

_I feel that I'm alive_

A minute more of easing touches and unexpressed temptation, Kiba pulled away. He couldn't feel his arms. His heart reached into his ears, deafening him. What he _could_ feel was the wildfire surging over his cheeks.

"Oh…I'm sorry." He excused. Two wide azure eyes burned a hole through him, seeking an explanation.

Kiba dismissed his actions with an uncomfortable laugh, hoping Naruto would forget about it.

"What was that for?"

"Well…I thought I already explained this. I like you." it suddenly became warmer.

_When you bless the day_

_I just drift away_

_All my worries die_

_I'm glad that I'm alive_

"Yeah….hey, you never told me why?"

"Why what?"

"Why you like me."

Kiba nuzzled closer, his curious hand running through the lush forest of gold.

"Do I need a reason?" the brunette quipped.

"You have to have one, don't you?"

"Well…"

The bed sang its added stress when Kiba lifted his body up from his place next to Naruto and ascended up on his hands, rolling his heavy body over the other. Naruto laid petrified under the Inuzuka, his gaze locked into Kiba's sepia crescent eyes.

The blonde's body tensed as he felt Kiba's chafing his lower body.

"…for starters, you're a good friend. At least that's how it started."

"You're smart, maybe not in practical things, but you can be." Naruto pouted.

"You feel warm, you have the most interesting scent…" Kiba descended closer.

"…and you're pretty…" Kiba had gone close enough for the pinned Naruto to close the rest of the distance between them, silencing the other just long enough the grab a quick kiss.

"…cute." Kiba laughed.

"That is so corny." Naruto spat, a deepening smile gracing his features. He seemed to shine, even in the Inuzuka's shadow.

"So what?" Kiba started to chuckle. It was true. What he just said was something so childish, like something out of a cliché fairy tale.

The two started to laugh together, ignoring the creaking floor boards just outside the brunette's bedroom.

"What are they saying?" Chouji asked.

"I don't know! I can't hear them." Shikamaru pressed his ear firmer onto the door.

"You know, I could just use my Byakugan to see what they're doing." Neji added.

"Hey yeah! Go for it." Chouji cheered.

Neji started making the seals with his hands that would let them all know just what was going on the other side of the door.

Just before he could finish….

"I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE OUT THERE! GO AWAY!" Kiba roared from the bed.

"I CAN SMELL YOUR POTATO CHIPS CHOUJI!"

Neji stopped and the other two looked at him, scared.

"Uh…Shikamaru what are you doing? You shouldn't spy on others." Neji said matter-of-factly before running away.

"Chouji, you and your damn chips." Shikamaru grabbed his friend and followed Neji out the door.

The two laid, one on top of the other, Naruto laughing at his protective companion. Kiba's glare softened as he turned away from the door back to his targeted blonde.

Naruto stopped laughing but still had the dumbest smile over his face. Kiba looked into him, and Naruto did the same.

Kiba slowly started to descend again. This time, his heart started to beat even more rampantly in expectation. He could feel his companion's hands tighten around his shoulders, his nails digging into the fabric of his shirt.

Naruto laced his open legs around the Inuzuka's waist, trapping him. He tied his heels together to ensure that Kiba could not escape.

Kiba's lower body pressed harder into Naruto, feeling a sudden strain below his belt line.

Kiba let his fingers dance along Naruto's lithe waist and down to his legs, lifting him further up the Inuzuka's body. Then they traveled up and behind the blonde's shoulder blades.

The air became heavy around them the closer they became.

Kiba took one final look at his companion's feather-soft lips before letting them shut and allowing his body to do the rest.

The kiss started gently, the brunette writhing under his actions. Then, he pressed desperately into Naruto's open mouth, demanding more.

Naruto's hair stood on end when he felt Kiba's greedy tongue enter him and start to taste him, teasing him to fight back.

The blonde responded with even more pressure exerted over the brunette's shoulders and lower body. Naruto moaned savagely the more Kiba charmed him.

The room became saturated with the scent of the two breathing against one another.

In order to avoid asphyxiation, Kiba had to separate, causing his rambunctious friend to whine in disapproval.

Kiba silenced his friend again with another quick kiss, slowly and gingerly working his jacket off. Naruto watched and waited, hoping his clothes would join Kiba's on the floor.

Just as he felt the jacket fall from under his suffocating grasp, Naruto could feel his waist band loosen, with the biggest smile spread over his lips.

The two laid together in the brunette's bed, their clothes discarded sloppily on the floor closest to the foot of the bed.

Kiba held close to his lover, protecting him from the cold and anything else that would threaten him. He let his heavy head absorb the scent of the blonde he held so dear. He stretched his right arm across Naruto's chest, turning him in his sleep to lay his head against his bare chest.

Everything he had done for his lover, everything he did to him, all the moans and the tender embraces and promises he made, he hoped it wouldn't be the end. He promised he would help him find Sasuke, his long lost friend. That's all he hoped it was, just a friendship.

Naruto was his. And he wanted more than anything to keep it that way. He would fight the Uchiha himself if he needed to.

Naruto tossed in his sleep, curling against the naked form that held him. Kiba embraced him harder, a stray tear forcing itself from his control. He let it dance, down his cheek, to his chin, and finally falling into the pelage of sunshine and sunflowers.

"Naruto...are you awake?" he whispered but got no response.

All for the better. Kiba glanced over at the clock next to his bed. Only four more hours before the sun would shine through his open windows. Then, as per his promise, he would have to help Naruto find his friend.

He fought the urge to sleep as best he could. He didn't want to sleep. Every moment he had left with Naruto, he wanted to be awake to appreciate them before his attention would be stolen away by the Uchiha brat.

What had it meant? All the passion Kiba tried to pour onto his kyuubi while he rested in his arms, while he kissed him. Would Naruto still want to be with him? He hoped so.

"Ugh…" Naruto stirred in his sleep again. Kiba stiffened, trying to coax the kyuubi to stay asleep.

"K-Kiba…" the blonde spoke.

"Hey, Naruto." Kiba whispered back.

"What time is it?"

"Almost three o'clock."

"Oh." And with that, the severity of the situation hit them both.

A deafening silence fell between them.

"Kiba?" Naruto spoke.

"Yeah?"

"You are such an idiot."

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"You're an idiot for liking me."

"I know. But I don't mind being stupid." Kiba smiled. Naruto pressed his lips against his savior's chest and then again over his lips.

Kiba quickly caught his hand around to the back of Naruto's head to keep him in place as the brunette deepened the kiss.

"Hey…Kiba?"

"Yeah?"

"When we find Sasuke…" the brunette's heart sank.

"…how about we go on our first date afterwards?"

Kiba couldn't help but hold Naruto closer after what he said. The brunette almost started to cry again.

"Deal." Kiba closed with another passionate kiss.

It was still another couple of hours before the two would have to get out of bed. Awake they stayed, entwined in each other's arms, keeping each moment they had together sacred before the dawn of a new day would find them as the night left them, more than friends, more than comrades, no less than lovers.

FIN


End file.
